US Apologises to APJ Abdul Kalam for Frisking Incident
Kalam frisking: India to take up issue with US at highest level
Hindus pledge allegiance to Pakistan at mass wedding ceremony
Policeman arrested for attempting to rape Hindu woman in Pak
Major row over ‘ talaq’ on phone!
Manmohan not putting ‘ blind faith’ in Gilani
Any unconstitutional step by army tantamount to sedition: CJP
Four intelligence officials killed in Jhelum raid on militant hideout
Geo News Impact: CM takes notice of torture on boy, 2 suspended
16 killed in two Khyber attacks
Syrian forces kill 4 at pro-Assad rally: Activists
27 Guards killed in Iran military base blast
Syria suspended from Arab League till it ends killings
Syrians protest Arab vote, embassies stormed
Iran: Nobody would dare attack Islamic Republic
Gilani-Karzai meeting was a positive exchange of views: FO Pak
Gul Bahadar abandons peace talks
Pak planning to purchase 2 N-power plants from China
Republicans assail Obama on Iran, jab Pakistan
Curfew clamped on North Waziristan
Three injured in Swat hand grenade attack
How justice was done in Gujarat, India
Minorities’ panel to Gujarat CM: we need to meet, discuss Muslim plight
Indonesia arrests three for planning embassy attack
Cell planning terror attacks in Bahrain busted
Afghan jirga decisions not binding: spokeswoman
Morocco gears up for poll with eyes on Islamic party
Cases against Lal Masjid cleric: Police ordered to submit evidences
Libya oil output to return to pre-war levels next year
Shaikh Mohammad opens Dubai Airshow
Heritage peels off but UP CM glorifies herself
Compiled By New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/us-apologises-apj-abdul-kalam/d/5901
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US Apologises to APJ Abdul Kalam for Frisking Incident
PTI | Nov 13, 2011,
The US has apologised to former President APJ Abdul Kalam for subjecting him to frisking at New York's JFK Airport, an incident that had provoked sharp reactions from India.
NEW DELHI: The US has apologised to former President APJ Abdul Kalam for subjecting him to frisking at New York's JFK Airport, an incident that had provoked sharp reactions from India which threatened retaliatory action.
In a written apology to Kalam and the Indian government, the US said, "Appropriate procedure for expedited screening of dignitaries had not been followed".
"We deeply regret the inconvenience that resulted for him (Kalam) as a result of the September 29 incident involving the security screening at JFK Airport in New York," a statement from the US Embassy here said, noting that it had the utmost respect for Kalam.
They also said that US was actively working to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.
Taking serious note of the incident, India had threatened retaliatory action with external affairs minister SM Krishna directing Indian ambassador to US Nirupama Rao to take up the matter in writing at the "highest level" with Washington.
The US said that subsequent to the frisking incident, US Charge d' Affairs Peter Burleigh personally hand delivered a letter from the US transportation security administrator to Kalam and a similar letter was delivered to the government of India regretting the incident.
Maintaining that it "deeply values and appreciates" the strong relationship and partnership with India, the US said, "We are confident that despite this regrettable incident, we will continue working closely with India in the many areas of our strategic partnership".
80-year-old Kalam was frisked in New York on September 29 before boarding an Air India flight.
Sources said that even after Kalam had taken his seat in the aircraft, the US security personnel forced the crew to open the door and took away the jacket and boots of the former president to check for explosives since they had forgotten to do so before his boarding. The items were later returned to Kalam.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-apologises-to-APJ-Abdul-Kalam-for-frisking-incident/articleshow/10715988.cms
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Kalam frisking: India to take up issue with US at highest level
New Delhi:Nov 13 2011,
Kalam was frisked in New York on September 29 before boarding an Air India flight.
Outraged at former President A P J Abdul Kalam being subjected to frisking for explosives at New York's J F K Airport, India today threatened retaliatory action against US dignitaries unless such "unacceptable" practices were stopped.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna spoke to Indian Ambassador to US Nirupama Rao and directed her to take up the matter in writing at the "highest level" with Washington after it emerged that Kalam was frisked in New York on September 29 before boarding an Air India flight.
Even after Kalam was seated, the US security personnel forced the crew to open the door and took away the jacket and boots of the former president to check for explosives since they had forgotten to do so before his boarding.
Officials said the Minister has also sought a detailed report on the incident from its mission into the incident which they said was unacceptable,.
They further said that if this continues, there is a possibility of reciprocating as per diplomatic norms.
This is not the first time that Kalam has been frisked by US aviation officials.
Kalam was frisked by officials of US airliner Continental Airlines in April, 2009 despite his name featuring in the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security's list of people exempt from security checks in India.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/kalam-frisking-india-to-take-up-issue-with-us-at-highest-level/875124/
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Hindus pledge allegiance to Pakistan at mass wedding ceremony
PTI | Nov 13, 2011,
KARACHI: Amid attacks on Hindus in Pakistan's Sindh province, hundreds of community members here have pledged their allegiance to the country.
The pledge came at a mass wedding ceremony organised by the Pakistan Hindu Council yesterday in this financial hub which was attended by hundreds of Hindus and Muslims.
The ceremony saw 80 couples exchange wedding vows in traditional Hindu rites as prominent social worker Sattar Edhi also gave his blessings to the couples.
"I think this ceremony is the best platform for us to make it clear that all Hindus living in this country are as patriotic and nationalistic as every other Pakistani of any religion. People should not question our allegiance to Pakistan," said Mukesh Kumar, a senior official of the Pakistan Hindu Council.
The same sentiments were expressed by many other Hindus at the ceremony with Prem, one of the grooms, insisting they also wanted to see Pakistan prosper as a nation.
The Hindu community in Pakistan's southern Sindh province has been up in arms over the killing of three Hindus including doctors in Chak town near Shikarpur on Eid day and the incident has even led to President Asif Ali Zardari ordering the government machinery to probe the incident and provide justice to the victims.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Hindus-pledge-allegiance-to-Pakistan-at-mass-wedding-ceremony/articleshow/10715285.cms
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Policeman arrested for attempting to rape Hindu woman in Pak
Lahore: Nov 13 2011,
A Pakistani policeman has been arrested after being accused of attempting to rape a Hindu woman during the celebrations marking Guru Nanak's birth anniversary in his birthplace of Nankana Sahib.
The 45-year-old woman was part of a group of pilgrims who had come to Nankana Sahib from Rahim Yar Khan district in Pakistan's Punjab.
She told police that a constable entered a temporary washroom at Gurudwara Tambu Singh while she was inside and attempted to sexually molest her on November 8.
District police chief Haider Ashraf said that the constable named Muhammad Tariq had been arrested and a case of attempted rape registered against him.
The constable was subsequently sent to jail on judicial remand.
Other police officials said evidence gathered from the site would be sent for DNA tests to ascertain whether the allegations against the policeman were true.
Reports from Nankana Sahib said some Sikh pilgrims caught the policeman, beat him up and locked him in a room within Gurudwara Tambu Singh, located about a kilometre away from Gurudwara Janamsthan.
For Detail Report:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/policeman-arrested-for-attempting-to-rape-hindu-woman-in-pak/875141/
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Major row over ‘talaq’ on phone!
By Yatish Yadav in New Delhi
AN ARMY Major posted in Assam has landed in serious trouble after the Supreme Court recently dismissed his special leave petition ( SLP) seeking to stay his arrest in a dowry case.
Major Arshad Zeeshan Siddiqui had reportedly divorced his wife Nazia Haleem on May 17, 2009, by thrice uttering “ talaq, talaq, talaq ” over the phone and also submitted an affidavit to officially declare that his marriage had broken down. The officer is currently posted at the Dinjan- based 38, Independent Reconnaissance & Observation Flight of the Army Aviation Corps.
Nazia filed a complaint with the Chandigarh SP on August 20, 2009, which was forwarded to the women’s cell for an inquiry. Subsequently, an FIR was registered on March 17, 2010, under Sections 406 ( breach of trust) and 498A ( cruelty) of the IPC and Section 4 ( penalty for demanding dowry) of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961. Since his anticipatory bail plea has now been rejected by the Supreme Court, Maj Arshad may soon land behind bars. He had challenged in the apex court, the dismissal of his anticipatory bail petition by the Punjab & Haryana High Court.
For Detail Report:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=13112011
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Manmohan not putting ‘blind faith’ in Gilani
IANS Nov,13 2011
ASSERTING that he is not putting blind faith in Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani for pushing through bilateral dialogue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said Pakistan’s armed forces were on board in the peace process.
He said India wanted to strengthen the hands of the civilian government in Pakistan and that Gilani, whom he met in Male on Thursday, clearly understood that one more Mumbai- like attack would be a big setback to the peace process.
“ The Indo- Pak peace process, the resumed dialogue of which is going to take place shortly, was subject to accidents,” Singh told journalists on board his special flight while returning from the SAARC summit in Maldives. He said his visit to Pakistan would take place only when Pakistan takes solid steps against the Mumbai terror attack accused in that country.
“I would not like to go into the details of this matter. But when I did discuss with the Pakistan Prime Minister whether Pakistan’s armed forces were on board, the feeling I got after a long time was they were on board,” he said in reply to a question on foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s claim that the Pakistani army was involved in the peace initiatives with India.
For Detail Report:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=13112011
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Any unconstitutional step by army tantamount to sedition: CJP
November 13, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that any unconstitutional step of the military comes into the ambit of sedition, and Article 6 would be used over violations of constitution and the law.
Talking to a delegation of the National Defence University, which called on him at the Supreme Court on Saturday, the chief justice said that the Supreme Court declared in its July 31 verdict that anybody who would violate the constitution would be considered as traitor.
The chief justice said that the constitution had determined the role of the military and any unconstitutional act by the armed forces shall be deemed as seditious.
He said that the judges of higher courts had written in their code of conduct that no judge would take oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).
He said each organ of the government was required to perform its functions to the fullest extent and avoid intervention in the domain of the others.
“The constitution provides for a system of separation of powers between the three organs ie Legislature, Executive and Judiciary. Each organ is required to perform its functions to the fullest extent and avoid intervention in the domain of the other. This is how the business of state can be conducted in an organised and coherent manner and peace and security can be maintained in the country,” he said.
For Detail Report:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg1_2
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Four intelligence officials killed in Jhelum raid on militant hideout
November 13, 2011
CHAKWAL/JHELUM: Authorities say four intelligence officials have been killed during a raid on a militant hideout in Jehlum district.
An army officer says the militants were from Lashkar-e-Jangvi, an al Qaeda-allied group.
Five militants of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, including a key militant commander, were also killed in the operation in Pir Chanbbal hilly area of Pind Dadan Khan
The operation took place near Gharibwal cement factory after four intelligence officials, including Major Afaq, were killed by the militants. More than 200 police and military personnel took part in the operation. Dr Arshad, top commander of the banned outfit, was killed in teh operation. Arshad had kidnapped the security officials for ransom and killed all of them.
Arshad was also wanted by police in a murder case in Mandi Bahauddin Saddar Police Station. Military sources said operation was intelligence-led and carried by police only, adding no helicopter took part in the operation. agencies
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg7_3
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Geo News Impact: CM takes notice of torture on boy, 2 suspended
November 13, 2011
LAHORE: Two police officials of Sabzazar police station blamed for torture on a boy have been suspended after Geo News broke the story.
Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif also took notice of the report regarding torture on a 15-year-old boy by Lahore police and instructed Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Ahmad Raza Tahir to present a detailed report into the incident.
Lahore police tortured the boy after arresting him in connection with kidnapping children and later released him declaring innocent when he fainted.
Mohammad Syed, a resident of Khaarak, blamed Friday that Sabzazar Police took his son and tortured him for six hours forcing him to confess kidnapping allegations.
The police later called upon boy's father and handed over him the fainted boy. The police also instructed Syed to keep his mouth shut regarding the issue.
Syed said that he got the medical examination of his son from Ganga Ram Hospital certificate of which took away by the police. CCPO Ahmad Raza Tahir was also requested to take notice but to no avail.
Father of victim had appealed to the Chief Minister Punjab for justice.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=26447&title=Geo-News-Impact:-CM-takes-notice-of-torture-on-boy,-2-suspended
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16 killed in two Khyber attacks
Nov. 13, 2011
ISLAMABAD: At least 16 people were killed and nine injured on Sunday in two attacks in Pakistan's northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan, a media report said.
Eight people were killed and seven injured in a blast at a market in Teerah Valley area of Khyber Agency. Another eight people, including three children, were killed and two injured in a mortar shell attack in Sipah area of the same region, Xinhua reported citing state-owned television network PTV.
The first attack took place around 10.20 am in Sipah when a mortar shell was fired at a house.
Both the two attacks occurred in Pakistan's northwest tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
Shortly after, a blast was reported at the market in Teerah Valley. Eight local militiamen who were fighting against militants in the area were killed and seven other people were injured.
No one has claimed responsibility for the two attacks.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=26442&title=16-killed-in-two-Khyber-attacks
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Syrian forces kill 4 at pro-Assad rally: Activists
Reuters | Nov 13, 2011,
AMMAN: Security forces shot dead four people who shouted slogans against President Bashar al-Assad at rally organised by the authorities in the city of Hama on Sunday to show popular anger at an Arab League decision to suspend Syria, local activists said.
"Security forces were leading public workers and students into Orontes square when groups broke away and started shouting 'the people want the fall of the regime'. They escaped into the alleyways but were followed and four were killed." said one of the activists in Hama, 240 km (150 miles) north of Damascus.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syrian-forces-kill-4-at-pro-Assad-rally-Activists/articleshow/10716274.cms
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27 Guards killed in Iran military base blast
Tehran: Nov 12 2011,
A massive explosion at a Revolutionary Guards base just west of the Iranian capital today killed 27 members of the elite force, officials said.
"Twenty-seven Guards personnel were killed in the explosion," a spokesman for the force, Commander Ramezan Sharif, told state television, adding that some of those injured were in critical condition.
An emergency official, Majid Khaled, quoted by the Mehr news agency, said 23 people were injured in the blast and taken to nearby hospitals.
The explosion shortly after 1 pm (0930 GMT) hit an ammunition depot at the base in Bid Ganeh, near the town of Malard on the western outskirts of Tehran, some 20 kilometres from the city centre, according to media reports.
It shattered the windows of residential neighbourhoods in the western suburbs of Tehran, witnesses told AFP. It was heard in the city centre.
"Initial investigations show the blast occurred as ammunition was being moved," Sharif said earlier.
The deputy head of the national security commission, Esmaeel Kosari, said Parliament would open a probe into the blast, the ISNA news agency reported.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/27-guards-killed-in-iran-military-base-blast/874891/
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Syria suspended from Arab League till it ends killings
CAIRO: The Arab League on Saturday suspended Syria until president Bashar al-Assad implements an Arab deal to end violence against protesters , and called for sanctions and transition talks with the opposition.
A statement, read by Qatari prime minister Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani , said the League decided "to suspend Syrian delegations' activities in Arab League meetings" if it continued to stall the Arab plan and to implement "economic and political sanctions against Syrian government."
It also called for the withdrawal of Arab ambassadors from Damascus, but left the decision to each Arab state. Sheikh Hamad said the decision would take effect on November 16. The statement warned that Arab League secretary general Nabil al-Arabi would contact international organizations concerned with human rights, "including the UN" , if the bloodshed continued. It called for a meeting in Cairo with Syrian opposition groups in three days to "agree to a unified vision for the coming transitional period in Syria" . AFP
Obama praises League decision
For Detail Report:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Syria-suspended-from-Arab-League-till-it-ends-killings/articleshow/10711197.cms
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Syrians protest Arab vote, embassies stormed
BEIRUT, November 13, 2011
Syrian state television reports that thousands of pro-regime demonstrators are gathering in a Damascus square to protest the Arab League’s vote to suspend Syria over its bloody crackdown on the country’s eight-month-old uprising.
Sunday’s protest follows angry demonstrations late Saturday that saw supporters of President Bashar Assad attacking the Qatari and Saudi embassies in the Syrian capital. The Saudi media said that protesters managed to enter the kingdom’s compound and ransack some parts within.
Saturday’s Arab League decision was a sharp rebuke and humiliating blow to the Syrian regime. It is unlikely however to immediately end a wave of violence that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 3,500 people since mid-March.
In Damascus, pro-regime demonstrators threw eggs and tomatoes at the Qatari Embassy to protest the vote.
The 22-member Arab League will monitor the situation and revisit the decision in a meeting Wednesday in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, bin Jassim said, a move that appeared to give Syrian President Bashar Assad time to avert the suspension.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2624318.ece
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Iran: Nobody would dare attack Islamic Republic
13 NOVEMBER 2011
A senior Iranian envoy is discounting the threat of a military attack on Iran, saying “nobody would dare” to provoke such a confrontation with Tehran.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh says Iran’s foes “should have learned a lesson” from the way his country fought Saddam Hussein’s Army to a standstill after it invaded the Islamic Republic in 1980.
Israeli Government figures suggest there is debate on whether to strike Iran. The Jewish state is concerned that Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons and if that diplomacy fails to end that threat the only option may be a strike on its atomic installations.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/20039-iran-nobody-would-dare-attack-islamic-republic.html
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Gilani-Karzai meeting was a positive exchange of views: FO Pak
November 13, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Commenting on speculative media reports on the meeting between Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and President Hamid Karzai, the Foreign Office on Saturday said that this bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the SAARC Summit in Maldives was held in a cordial atmosphere and provided a good opportunity for a frank and indepth exchange of views.
A Foreign Office spokesperson, in a statement issued on Saturday, said that Gilani recounted Pakistan’s consistent efforts to have the best of relations with Afghanistan and the several initiatives taken in this regard.
For Detail Report:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg7_15
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Gul Bahadar abandons peace talks
Nov. 13 2011
Hafiz Gul Bahadur, believed to have thousands of fighters, reached an unofficial peace agreement with the Pakistani government in 2007
MIRAMSHAH: A top militant ‘commander’ in North Waziristan said on Saturday that his group was abandoning peace talks with the government in protest against the bombing on Wednesday of a hospital and other buildings in the main bazaar of Miramshah.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Hafiz Gul Bahadar, leader of his Masul-wa-Khadimul Mujahideen group, threatened to carry out retaliatory activities if security forces continued with their ‘punitive’ actions. According to the statement, the Shura Mujahideen Waziristan decided to wind up the peace jirga with the government in reaction to the bombing by security forces of a medical complex and drug stores.
For Detail Report:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/13/gul-bahadar-abandons-peace-talks.html
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Pak planning to purchase 2 N-power plants from China
Nov 13, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to purchase two atomic power plants with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW from China despite concerns expressed by the West over nuclear cooperation between the two countries. The new plants will be installed at the Karachi nuclear power plant complex to address the country's energy crisis.
The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) and Pakistan atomic energy commission are likely to enter into an agreement for a joint study to finalize design modifications for the new plants, the Express Tribune quoted official documents as saying. After the joint study, a contract for establishing Kanupp-2 and Kanupp-3 will be negotiated.
Pakistan's planning commission has said CNNC should be asked to grant intellectual property rights for the plants and suggest steps to help avoid violation of property rights. China and Pakistan have signed an agreement in 2009 to set up two nuclear power plants despite western concerns that it violated international nuclear regulations.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pak-planning-to-purchase-2-N-power-plants-from-China/articleshow/10711223.cms
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Republicans assail Obama on Iran, jab Pakistan
AFP | Nov 13, 2011,
Republican White House hopefuls Saturday slammed President Barack Obama's handling of Iran and vowed a tougher line - even going to war - to stop Tehran obtaining nuclear weapons.
"If we re-elect Barack Obama, Iran will have a nuclear weapon," former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said as the candidates opened their first foreign policy debate. "If you elect me as the next president, they will not."
But former pizza chain executive Herman Cain, running neck-and-neck with Romney in the polls, said "the only way you can stop them is through economic means," pledging tougher sanctions, and support for domestic opposition groups.
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich, whose support has recently surged, sided with Romney, calling "maximum covert operations" against Iran's suspect nuclear program, "including taking out their scientists" and sabotage.
The International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN atomic watchdog, said Tuesday it had "serious concerns" based on "credible" information that Iran has "carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device."
But former Republican senator Rick Santorum said the United States "should be working with Israel right now to do what they did in Syria, what they did in Iraq, which is take out that nuclear capability before the next explosion we hear in Iran is a nuclear one -- and then the world changes."
For Detail Report:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Republicans-assail-Obama-on-Iran-jab-Pakistan/articleshow/10712129.cms
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Curfew clamped on North Waziristan
DAWN.COM Nov. 13, 2011
MIRAMSHAH: Security forces on Sunday clamped curfew on various parts of North Waziristan border region for an indefinite period, DawnNews reported.
According to sources, the main road connecting Miramshah to Bannu district has been blocked for all kinds of traffic.
Meanwhile, militants bombed a convoy of security forces with a remote-controlled device, although no casualties were reported in the attack.
Earlier, top militant ‘commander’ in North Waziristan Hafiz Gul Bahadur had announced he was abandoning peace talks with the government in protest of a recent bombing in Miramshah.
Moreover, the militant leader had threatened to carry out retaliatory activities if security forces continued with their ‘punitive’ actions.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/13/curfew-clamped-on-north-waziristan.html
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Three injured in Swat hand grenade attack
November 13, 2011
MINGORA: Three people, including a former union nazim and local leader of ANP Karimul Hadi Khan, were injured in a hand grenade attack by unidentified persons in Kanju Township. According to police, the local leader of ANP and former union council nazim Karimul Hadi Khan was walking along with his two friends, Professor Riaz and Haji Akhundzada, in Kanju Township in tehsil Kabal of Swat, when some unidentified persons sitting in a car hurled a hand grenade on them, injuring the three men. The attackers managed to escap. The police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area while the injured were rushed to Saidu Sharif Hospital where their conditions were stated to be stable. Police have launched search for the arrest of the attackers. app
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg7_10
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How justice was done in Gujarat, India
By D. P. Bhattacharya
Nov. 13, 2011
From a Jesuit priest to a former DGP and a physicist- turnedof committed professionals did not let the state agencies burydone in the truth about the 2002 riots activist lawyer, an inspired lot
T HE road to justice has not been easy, but the quest for justice has not ended. The Sardarpura massacre verdict has rekindled the hope for justice among the scores of victims of 2002 Gujarat riots.
The verdict has generated hope and happiness among those who were fast losing their patience. Activists, both legal and social, maintain that the process would not have happened but for the Supreme Court, which played a stellar role in strictly monitoring the cases and ordering the appointment of Special Investigation Team ( SIT) under the chairmanship of former CBI director R. K. Raghavan, an IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre.
The clamour for justice was on the rise since 2002.
Ahmedabad- based activists, along with the noted danseuse Mallika Sarabhai, had filed a PIL in the apex court in 2002 itself. Later the National Human Rights Commission also filed a petition and activists like Teesta Setalvad and others flooded the Supreme Court with one application after another.
For Detail Report:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=13112011
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Minorities’ panel to Gujarat CM: we need to meet, discuss Muslim plight
Worried over what he calls “longstanding issues concerning minority welfare in Gujarat”, National Commission for Minorities (NCM) chief Wajahat Habibullah has sought a meeting with Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
While his letter makes a specific mention of those who are “internally displaced” — in the wake of the 2002 riots — and living in ghettos in the state, NCM member Syeda Imam says what is of particular concern is Gujarat’s failure to ensure that poor meritorious students from the minority community receive the pre-matriculation scholarships they are entitled to.
The schemes targeting minorities, which are sanctioned and even funded three-fourths by the Centre, are not making any headway, said Imam.
“Scholarships of at least 77,051 children are hanging fire as Gujarat has refused to release the money.”
The NCM is facing this problem only in Gujarat — where the government, Modi has asserted, doesn’t believe in “minority, majority politics”. Even other BJP-ruled states are implementing the schemes.
Said Fakir Vaghela, Gujarat Social Justice and Empowerment Minister under whom the scheme falls: “We give scholarships to minority students under various state and central government schemes. We have not received any query from the minority commission so I don’t know what scheme they are referring to. If I get the letter, we will respond.’’
Imam as well as Habibullah have already made two separate visits to Gujarat in this regard.
Under the Central pre-matriculation scheme, the Centre gives 75 per cent of the funds the students are entitled to, with the states chipping in with the rest. As per the rules, the Centre releases the money only after the state has put its 25 per cent on the table.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/minorities-panel-to-modi-we-need-to-meet-discuss-muslim-plight/874981/
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Indonesia arrests three for planning embassy attack
November 13, 2011
JAKARTA: Indonesia arrested three men Saturday over alleged links to a terror group accused of planning an attack on the Singapore embassy in the capital Jakarta, police said. National police spokesman Saud Usman Nasution said the arrests took place in Tangerang city on the outskirts of Jakarta. One of the suspects was shot in the leg by anti-terror police as he attempted to escape. “An investigation is still ongoing and we cannot reveal for the time being their involvement in terror,” he said, adding that during the morning raid police seized two firearms and more than a dozen bullets. An unnamed anti-terror police officer told AFP the three were linked to 11 terror suspects arrested in July, including ringleader Abu Umar who planned the embassy attack. Umar had close links with Ahmad Sayid Maulana, killed in a police raid last year at his house, where police found a map of Singapore’s train network. The underground train station on Orchard Road shopping belt had been circled on the map. A map of an airport in the city of General Santos in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao was also among the items found in the house. Following the July arrest, national anti-terror deputy chief Petrus Golose said Abu Umar led the group planning the attack. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg7_7
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Cell planning terror attacks in Bahrain busted
November 13, 2011
DUBAI: A cell planning attacks in the Sunni-dominated Gulf kingdom of Bahrain troubled by a Shia-led opposition movement, has been broken up, the interior ministry spokesman said on Saturday.
Four members of the cell were detained in Qatar and turned over to Manama, while a fifth Bahraini was arrested inside the country, spokesman General Tareq al Hasan said.
The alleged targets were the interior ministry, the Saudi embassy and a causeway linking the two countries.
Hasan said the four arrested in Qatar had been travelling by car from Saudi Arabia. Authorities seized “documents and a computer containing information of a security nature (and) details on certain vital sites,” as well as dollars and Iranian riyals.
“They then confessed that they had left Bahrain illegally at the instigation of others and gone to Iran” to form an “organisation to commit armed terrorist acts in Bahrain,” he added.
For Detail Report:
The opposition says 40 people were killed. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg7_6
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Afghan Jirga decisions not binding: spokeswoman
November 13, 2011
KABUL: Decisions taken by a long-awaited meeting of Afghan elders next week on long-term relations with the United States and the country’s peace strategy will not be binding, a spokeswoman said Saturday.
Officials also dismissed rumours of a postponement to the loya jirga, a traditional meeting from Wednesday of more than 2,000 people from around the country in a giant tent in Kabul.
“The jirga will advise the government on the issues, then the decision or agreement reached in the loya jirga will be referred to the country’s parliament,” said loya jirga spokeswoman Safia Sediqi.
“The parliament has the authority to say yes or no to it.” The Taliban has already threatened those taking part in the meeting.
In a statement issued on its website last month, spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid warned that those taking part would be pursued “in every corner of the country and will face severe repercussions”.
The loya jirga called by President Hamid Karzai is only the fourth of its kind in Afghanistan since the Taliban were ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001.
For Detail Report:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg7_27
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Morocco gears up for poll with eyes on Islamic party
November 13, 2011
RABAT: Morocco opened its campaign for November 25 legislative elections Saturday, with moderate Islamic party seen as possible winners and fears of a low turnout in the country’s second vote this year.
In the last parliamentary elections in 2007 turnout was a mere 37 percent, a sign of Moroccans’ lack of interest in public affairs. “Turnout - the great fear,” ran a headline in L’Economiste ahead of the start of the campaign. The newspaper said the issue was “key for the success of dynamic reforms”.
The election comes less than five months after a July 1 referendum on a new constitution which had been proposed by King Mohamed VI as regimes in neighbouring Arab countries were being swept away by public anger. The amended constitution was to make the kingdom more democratic, strengthen parliament and the prime minister while leaving the outstanding role of the monarch untouched.
For Detail Report:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg7_25
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Cases against Lal Masjid cleric: Police ordered to submit evidences
Staff Report
November 13, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate Kashif Qayum on Saturday ordered Aabpara police to produce witness and submit evidence sheet of the 10 cases against the chief cleric of Lal Masjid Maulana Abdul Aziz for allegedly challenging government writ, keeping illegal arms and distribution of hatred content and many other crimes at mosque premises in 2007.
A total 14 cases were registered against Aziz with District Court, of which in four he was acquitted on September 31. The said judge adjourned the 10 remaining cases till November 19 and the final decisions of the reamaninign cases will be announced on November 19. The cases were initially heard in Anti Terrorist Courts (ATC) of Rawalpindi but after the removal of section 7 of Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997, these were transferred to Islamabad District Court.
For Detail Report:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\13\story_13-11-2011_pg11_1
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Libya oil output to return to pre-war levels next year
13 November 2011
Libya expects to return crude oil output to pre-war levels of around 1.6m barrels per day (bpd) by the end of 2012, the head of the country's National Oil Corporation has said.
Nuri Berouin said output has arisen to 600,000 bpd, and expects to add another 200,000 a day by the end of 2011.
He said that repairs to the oil sector's infrastructure will cost "hundreds of millions of dollars".
Mr Berouin was speaking at an economic forum of gas exporters, held in Qatar.
"Our production has reached 600,000 bpd of which 140,000 bpd go to (local) refineries," said Berouin, with the remaining 460,000 bpd for export.
The uprising in Libya virtually shut the country's oil industry, and exports only resumed in September.
Last week, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said that production in Libya was resuming faster than had been expected after a key pipeline was repaired.
It is estimated that more than 10% of the [Organisation of Petrolium Exporting Countries] Opec member's oil infrastructure was severely damaged during the eight-month rebellion.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15712718
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Shaikh Mohammad opens Dubai Air show
Staff Report, 13 November 2011
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday inaugurated Dubai International Airshow 2011 at Dubai Airport Expo Centre.
Gen Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubaiand Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin RashidAl Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Technology and Media Free Zone Authority, Crown Princes of the Emirates, and King Juan Carlosof Spain were also present on the occasion.
On the opening day of the airshow, Emirates announced orders and commitments valued at $26 billion for Boeing Co’s777 planes. The agreement includes firm orders for 50 aircraft valued at $18billion, and the rest as options, Emirates Chairman Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said.
For Detail Report:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/dubaiairshow/2011/November/dubaiairshow_November16.xml§ion=dubaiairshow
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Heritage peels off but UP CM glorifies herself
By Akash Vashishtha in Ghaziabad
UTTAR Pradesh chief minister Mayawati may be obsessed with the idea of constructing dalit memorials and self- glorifying facades, but the condition of the existing memorials across the state presents a gory picture of the once- rich heritage. The RTI replies by the tourism directorate, the state archaeological department and the Lucknow and Agra circles of the ASI reveal the state government’s apathy towards the heritage sites.
The archaeological department, in response to a query, has revealed that the state is conserving only 141 heritage structures.
In sharp contrast, 3,500 ancient structures in UP are lying unprotected.
The record of such heritage sites is not available with the department.
Significantly, while the state government is protecting only 141 heritage sites, the ASI — a Central body — is engaged in conserving 756 such sites in the state. The ASI’s Lucknow circle is in charge of around 360 heritage sites, the Agra circle is taking care of 397 such venues.
For Detail Report:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=13112011
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/us-apologises-apj-abdul-kalam/d/5901